I Will See You Again
by UniqueAsterisk
Summary: Belle can't imagine anything more painful than watching Rumpelstiltskin sail away, never to return. (Contribution to Rumbelle Weekly Challenge: Week Two. One-shot set after "Straight On 'Til Morning".)


**Author Notes: So, this is my contribution to the Rumbelle Weekly Challenge. This week's prompt was, "I will see you again." This one-shot is th result. O hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time. It belongs to ABC, as well as Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.**

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**I Will See You Again**

Belle looked at him. She drank in the sight of him, of everything that made him who he was, that made him the man she fell in love with. The way he stood, never letting his injury affect how he held himself with dignity and pride. The sadness that was always hidden in his eyes. His lips, the way they moved when he spoke, when he smiled, when he kissed her. She loved him, wholly and completely. And now she was losing him. Losing him forever.

_I will see you again._

The words echoed in her mind as she turned away from the dock.

She didn't want him to see her cry. If he couldn't stay, if she couldn't hold on to him for the rest of her life, she wanted his last view of her to be beautiful. Beautiful and brave. Those were the words he always used to describe her. Those, as well as smart and powerful and kind. He called her a hero. A beautiful woman who loved an ugly man. She never thought she deserved as much praise as he awarded her, but he never stopped giving it.

This was her moment to prove him right.

She had to be brave, she had to keep herself together. Crying didn't make her weak, she knew that, she'd always known that. But she didn't want the last image Rumpel saw of her to be her tear-stained face. She wanted him to remember her as he always had. As the woman who never gave up, never stopped fighting – for him and for herself. The woman whose head fit perfectly into the crook of his neck. The woman who dropped the teacup.

When she'd finally come out of the darkness, remembered who she really was and what mattered to her – remembered _him_ and everything else she had to live for – he had been standing there waiting for her. He was her rock. He let her cling to him and he held her just as tightly. She had been drowning and he'd pulled her out of the abyss.

Now, she had to be there for him. She had to stay strong.

She had to be _something_, some beacon of light or hope or love to guide him back from whatever hell he was plunging into. She had to lead him. She had to help him return.

She forced herself not to look back as she walked away. Her fist clenched around the slip of paper he'd given her. She would do what he had asked of her. She would cast the spell and protect the town in whatever way she could. But fear still coursed through her veins.

She knew he was trying to protect her by leaving her behind. From some horror so vile even _he_ wouldn't tell her of it. But after everything she'd been through, she didn't want to be protected – she didn't need to be. She didn't want to be sheltered from the storm. She wanted to stand in the middle of it with him by her side. She just wanted him.

But she couldn't board the ship, she couldn't take that last step.

So instead, she wanted to run. She wanted to run until she couldn't feel her own feet hit the ground. She wanted to run until she reached the pawn shop or his home or anywhere that was _him_, that felt like him. Somewhere she could hide. Somewhere she could be alone and known that no one would find her until she wanted to be found.

She wanted to bury her face in his pillow or his shirt or truly anything that held his scent. The scent of old leather and soft cotton, antique wood and warm tea. She wanted to breathe him in and know he was there. She wanted his arms around her. She wanted the safety and comfort that he always seemed to give her.

But she couldn't run and she couldn't hide and she couldn't step forward and she couldn't look back. So she forced herself to walk away from him, crying without making a sound. She felt like she was choking on her own tears, suffocating under her own fear and alienation and doubt.

She'd almost lost herself, almost fallen into that endless drunken veil that had clouded her mind. Now the sea was pulling her love away from her and she wasn't ready to let go.

She wasn't ready to lose him again.

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**Author Notes:** **So, what did you think? Don't forget to tell me! Reviews are, as always, very much appreciated.**


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